tea and coffee

Historians tell us that caffeine in coffee helped Western civilization “sober up” and get down to business. Now scientific research shows that at low doses, caffeine improves performance on mental tasks, especially in people who are already tired.

From handpicking to sorting, it’s women’s hands that take on much of the labor involved in producing coffee around the world. New initiatives are empowering women to reap more of the financial rewards.

About a century ago, a beautiful tradition emerged in the Italian city of Naples: Cafe-goers would buy a cup of coffee anonymously and in advance for a less-fortunate stranger. With much of Europe now in tight financial times, the custom is spreading across the continent.

Once people figured out how to roast the seeds of the Coffea plant in the 1400s, coffee took over the world. In doing so, it fueled creativity, revolutions, new business ventures, literature, music — and slavery.

It doesn’t take much effort to find bags of coffee with labels that promise social and environmental improvements. But each one of these certification programs promises something different for the farmer and the land — and every promise involves some compromises.

That tasty cup of java from your favorite gourmet coffee shop began life on a farm thousands of miles away. Farmers who cater to the specialty coffee market compete on quality. And some use the higher prices their beans fetch to reinvest in their businesses and improve conditions for workers.

Coffee is social stimulant, solitary pleasure, intellectual catalyst. It also connects us to far corners of the globe. From small specialty farms in Guatemala to large, industrial operations in Brazil and unexpected corners of the world, like Vietnam, the world’s morning cup of joe makes quite a journey.

Antioxidants in foods may have health benefits, but it’s not one size fits all. Having a diet high in overall antioxidant levels didn’t prevent stroke and dementia in one recent study, although eating more vitamin C and E specifically did seem to help.

Mary Ladd visits Dandelion Chocolate’s new cafe, where a team of passionate chocolate makers use beans that are sourced directly from quality small farms to make chocolate bars, smoothies, tea and iced chocolate drinks.

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Few people have a middling relationship to raw oysters—this mysterious, ubiquitous bivalve is loved and loathed in equal measure. These ten East Bay spots fall on the love end of the spectrum, and offer the best quality and presentation of these strange and healthful sea creatures on the east side of the bay.

It is easy to see why bánh mì are so popular. A leftover influence from French colonization, these Vietnamese sandwiches are inexpensive and bursting with great flavors and textures. Here is a list of ten unique bánh mì shops in the South Bay.

Everyone is talking about ramen, and there’s a ramen shop in almost every East Bay neighborhood. But what about all the other delicious Asian soups out there with the same soul-warming potential? Here are ten soups (at eight venues) you might not have thought of.

Here is a helpful guide highlighting ten popular pizza restaurants in the South Bay Area. Of course, there are plenty more than ten restaurants in the South Bay that are worthy of making this list so please share your favorites in the comments.

It’s 5 o’clock, and you’re leaving the office in search of some post-work libations and snacks before dinner. You could go the traditional happy hour route — where you’re limited to a few drinks and small bites within a short window of time — or you could up the ante and visit a Japanese izakaya.

Single-serve Greek yogurt cups are doing big business. A glance at their growing real estate in the dairy aisle says plenty about the snack’s growing popularity. Most yogurt companies tout their product’s healthfulness, but they gloss over the added sugars, flavorings, dyes and binders used to make their yogurt shelf-stable and kid-friendly. Make the snack at home for a healthier snack. Kate Williams will show you how.

Two UC Berkeley professors think weeds get a bad rap. In fact, they believe the “mountains” of wild edible plants growing between the Bay Area’s sidewalks can help solve food access problems in food deserts.

Here is a helpful guide highlighting ten popular pizza restaurants in the South Bay Area. Of course, there are plenty more than ten restaurants in the South Bay that are worthy of making this list so please share your favorites in the comments.

It’s 5 o’clock, and you’re leaving the office in search of some post-work libations and snacks before dinner. You could go the traditional happy hour route — where you’re limited to a few drinks and small bites within a short window of time — or you could up the ante and visit a Japanese izakaya.